Seashore Decision

Part 1: Scenario & Task

You have been reading a "Magic School Bus" story. You fall asleep and when you wake up, you discover that you are under the water of a rocky seashore!

A giant clam opens up and tells you that if you want to survive in this habitat, you will have to become a tide zone animal. The choice of which animal you will become is left up to you. Your task is to find out which tide zone animal you would rather be.

You want to make the best choice possible, so you decide to visit an animal from each of the four tide zone levels, and observe the lifestyles of each. These are the four tide zones. You will choose one animal to visit from each tide zone.

Low Level Tide Zone:
Sea Cucumber

Shrimp

Octopus

Mid Level Tide Zone:
Sea Anemone
Sea Star
Hermit Crab

High Level Tide Zone:
Crab
Mussel

Splash Zone
Limpet

Barnacle

Select an animal from each of the four tide zones to visit and observe. Record the names of the four animals you selected on your Notes Sheet.

Next Step: Questioning

Creators of this Online Investigation are Jan Frank, Library Media Specialist, and Sandra Florence, Teri Herda, Jennifer Cox, and Tom Jerns, Bellingham School District 3rd grade teachers.
Background courtesy of "AmboGraphics .com" (exits site)
Graphic courtesy ofEclipse Digital Graphics Network's Animation Factory (exits site)

Copyright Notice: No materials on any of the Bellingham Schools' WWW pages may be copied without express written permission unless permission is clearly stated on the page.